Where the Wild Things Are
by Nanika
Summary: Chihiro's life hits a sudden bump, and all she wants are things to be normal again. But when she finds herself in the Spirit World, she doesn't know what to think. How can things be normal if she in a place that she never could believe would exist?
1. As Clocks Break

          Hey, readers, and thanks for checking out my newest story!  The title of my story ("Where the Wild Things Are") actually came from one of my friends.  As we were sitting around in my basement watching the movie for the very first time, she looked at the Ushioni (the creatures that get out of the elevator as Lin is trying to hide Chihiro) and the Onama-Sama (a few similar gods) and said "Boy, those guys look like the monsters in a book I read as a kid.  'Where the Wild Things Are.'  Have you ever read it?"  Neither me or my other friend had, but it was an interesting statement none the less.  So the title is Where the Wild Things Are (although I don't own the title.  It belongs to Maurice Sendak, and I hope that I do him proud with my writing by borrowing it).  As for the Spirit World, Chihiro Ogino, her parents (Akio and Yuko), Haku, Yubaba, the gods and spirits of the bathhouse, and all the other characters I choose to use (excluding Yasuyo Kutaro.  He's mine) are not mine, nor is acclaimed movie Spirited Away.  Hail to the master of animation, Hayao Miyazaki!!!

Chapter One: As Clocks Break

          Plump crocodile tears fell from a pair of large, dark eyes onto an open book.  Chihiro sniffed quietly, rubbing the salty drops into the paper, slightly distorting the text.  She pushed her homework aside, burying her face in her arms.  She couldn't concentrate.  While she sat here at home, her mother was waiting anxiously at the hospital.  More tears slid down Chihiro's face.  Her dad was too young to die!  45-year-olds weren't supposed to have heart attacks!  She rolled slowly off her bed and let herself fall to the floor, pretending she was dead for a moment.  After scolding herself for her immature rudeness, she crawled over to the chair by her desk, whereupon hung her schoolbag.  She dug her hand deep down inside and, after a few laborious moments, produced a small cell phone.  She quickly scrolled through the directory and called the number of a certain Yasuyo Kutaro.  As she pulled herself up into the desk chair, her eyes caught on a small gallery of photos displayed in frames on her desktop.  One in particular stood out to her.  It was taken on New Year's earlier that year.  Chihiro remembered handing her camera to an older couple to get her picture taken with Yasuyo.  She felt a fond warmness toward the two frozen in time within that picture frame.  He looked so handsome in his good clothes, and she had to admit that she looked kind of pretty in her dark red kimono.  Her long brown hair was held back from her face in two soft buns, each nestled with intricate decorations and hanging jewels.  That picture was taken when she was sixteen, but she had recently turned seventeen.  She and Yasuyo had been together for just over a year.  How time flew…

          Chihiro frowned when she got his voice mail.  She decided to leave a message.  "Hey, Yasuyo…call me back right away, okay?  Bye…"  She sounded very defeated as she pushed the End button on her phone.  She forced her tears back and attempted to contact her mom, but got the away message again.  It was the fourth time already this hour that her mom hadn't answered.  What was happening?!  She had watched him clutch at his chest that morning at the breakfast table, biting at the inside of his mouth until blood seeped through his teeth.  His face was bright red, his eyes watering.  She could still hear the guttural moans and grunts of pain as if they were coming from his throat at this very moment.  The last time she had seen him was when the emergency crew of medics were carrying him quickly out on a stretcher.  Her mom gave her quick directions to stay home from school before running to catch up with the medics, asking frantic questions that echoed back to her as they left.  Her mom was usually practical and no-nonsense.  She was really scared, which made Chihiro really worried.

          She wiped fresh tears from her cheeks, wanting to reach back and find a happy place she could resort to…back when things were okay.  She pulled a framed photograph out from behind numerous others.  A 10-year-old version of herself smiled knowingly while her parents' proud, wide grins drew the viewer's attention to the house behind them.  The house they all lived in now.  This was taken the day they moved in.  The day after all that weird stuff had happened.

          Memories of the strange and unusual world of gods and spirits…the place of very dream…the home of every nightmare.  The spirit world she had found herself in had, over time, become a silly fantasy.  A childish delusion.  Being carried to the side of the river when he was younger was all a coincidence.  Pure luck.  Lin was not real and No Face was not real.  But most of all, Haku was not real.

          She put the picture face down on her desk, moving back to her bed.  She laid down, her face in a pillow.  She drifted deep into a restless dream of burning boilers and vast seas of rain, gods and bathhouses, and the twisting, twining flights of a single dragon…


	2. Back to Life?

          Hey guys, and thanks again for continuing to read my third fanfic "Where the Wild Things Are."  Sometimes I love the name, sometimes I hate it.  I guess I'm just the author, and my opinion doesn't matter.  LoL.  Well, I'll get down to chapter two now!  More to come!

Chapter Two: Back to Life?

          "Sen…  Sen, hurry up!"  Chihiro snapped upward, looking around instantly for Lin.  She ran down the corridor, her bare feet slapping on the wood flood.  Chihiro pardoned herself, bowing to a customer that she nearly ran into.  She turned the corner, looking around.

          "Where are you?" she called out through the warm, steamy air.

          "In the big tub, you dope.  You got the bath token, right?"

          Chihiro found the wooden token in her open palm and stared down at it.  Long, slender fingers extended past her palm.  She felt her long hair tied loosely behind her.  This wasn't a dream.  She dropped the wooden token, and it clattered noisily on the floor.  Chihiro braced herself against the wall, taking deep breaths to keep from fainting.  It was real…all real.  The Radish Spirit lumbered along the corridor and stopped in front of her, his eyes lolling toward her.  She drew back against the wall as the large, pallid form squatted down and curled its roots around the wooden tile.  The spirit stood back up, his joints squeaking, and dropped the token into Chihiro's hand.  She panicked, gripping the tile tightly as she ran the rest of the way to the room with the big tub.

          "Jeez, I thought you would never come, you big dope," Lin said from inside the empty tub.  Chihiro reluctantly walked over and knocked on the wall.  A secret panel popped out and she reached inside, clipping the token securely, and pulled, watching it zip upward out of sight before closing the panel.  She found a brush and, sighing, began to scrub.

          "Did you have trouble with the foreman?" Lin asked, wiping sweat from her brow with her sleeve.

          "No," Chihiro replied, "I don't remember.  The last thing I remember was lying in bed at home."

          Lin chuckled.  "I would agree that it's a bed, but I wouldn't call this place home."  She continued to scrub, gritting her teeth.

          "I thought you were going to get a one-way train ticket out of here," Chihiro replied, moving to another dirty spot.

          "You know I haven't found any tickets," Lin said.  She scampered up the side of the tub, throwing her brush out onto the floor.  Suddenly, a stream of boiling hot water poured into the tub.

          "Hey!" Chihiro cried, losing her brush, "Ow!"  She tried to climb up the sides of the tub, but her feet were too slick to grip.  She slipped back down, immersed in the water.  She came up sputtering, gagging against the burning stench of the herbs in the water.  She looked upward to see a tall, lanky silhouette balanced on the edge of the tub, cloaked in steam.  "Lin!" Chihiro exclaimed, choking on the water.  "Help me!"

          "No…_you_ used the train tickets.  My key to freedom.  You used them for a stupid _trip_ to save stupid _Haku_!"  There was a splash in the water and the figure on the edge of the tub was gone.  Chihiro felt a hand close around her ankle, pulling her under.  She struggled as she felt strong feet on her shoulders, forcing her to the very bottom of the tub.  Over the rumble of water pouring into the tub, Chihiro heard a distant voice.  "You little brat.  I'm stuck here because of _you_."  Chihiro's lungs burned, the herbs in the water making her eyes feel even more on fire than her flesh.  Bubbles slowly stopped coming from her mouth, the tiny pinpoints of life popping at the surface.

          Chihiro jumped, unable to breathe.  She ripped at the pillow and her throat, finally sucking in a long breath.  She fell off the edge of her bed, smacking her head on the thinly-carpeted floor.  She rubbed the back of her head, whining quietly.  Her voice caught in her throat, though, as she heard her cell phone ring up on her desk.  She scrambled over, grabbing it quickly.

          "Hello?" she demanded.  The line was silent, then rang in her ear.  "Shoot!" she exclaimed, turning it on quickly.  "Hello?" she said in a calmer voice.

          "Chihiro, you should answer your phone faster.  I almost had to leave you a voice mail."

          "Sorry, Mom!" she exclaimed quickly, apologizing to her mother with a bow, even though she wasn't even there.  "How's Dad?" she asked anxiously.

          "The doctors said he would be okay eventually."

          " 'Eventually'?" Chihiro repeated, her eyes widening.

          "Yes.  He suffered a heart attack, Chihiro.  He has to go through rehab," her mother snapped heatedly.  Chihiro was taken aback by how angry she sounded  "Anyways.  I'm going to be staying here at the hospital with your father.  I want you in school tomorrow, you hear me?"

          "Yes, ma'am," Chihiro replied meekly.  Her mother hung up, then, and Chihiro was left with a dead line.  She hung up slowly, shocked beyond feeling.  The tears came again as she walked slowly down the stairs to their kitchen.

          Two hours later, she washed her hands proudly, drying them with a white towel.  She tightly covered the small pot of sukiyaki she had made, wrapping up a watch of warm steamed dumplings.  After putting them in a picnic basket, she packed in a bento box full of white rice and two pairs of chopsticks.  She closed the lid to the basket, feeling quite proud of herself.  She hoped that she could surprise her mom with such a feast.  Maybe it would get their minds off her dad for a while…  "Oh!  Almost forgot the soy sauce, sweet and sour, and mustard!  Mom would never forgive me if I forgot the mustard!"  She chuckled, but the noise sounded very hollow.  An image of a gigantic pig bursting out of a pink sweater and a pair of khakis flashed into her mind.  "It was all a dream!" she exclaimed, pounding her fists into her head, "I was dreaming!"  She grabbed the basket and ran to her front door, throwing it open.

          Yasuyo stood at her door, an expression of shock on his face, his closed fist frozen in mid-knock.  "Oh, Yasuyo!" Chihiro cried, "I'm so glad you're here!"  She rushed to him, wanting him to wrap his arms around her for comfort.  He held up his hands to stop her in her tracks.  She stepped back, her eyes widening, gaining a strange softness.

          Yasuyo lost his words for a moment.  Gaining his composure again, he nervously raked a hand through his spiked, bleached blonde hair.  "Chihiro, I…I..."  He gritted his teeth, his light blue eyes rolling as he nervously licked his lips.  Chihiro's soft chocolate eyes tried to meet his.  "Chihiro, I…_gods_, this is hard!'  he grabbed a fistful of his loose jeans and squeezed tightly.

          Chihiro took the opportunity to cut in.  "Yasuyo, my dad is—"

          "Chihiro, I need some time alone.  We have to break up."  He bowed low, his blue eyes squeezed tightly shut, as if by doing so he could shut out the pain she was feeling.

          Chihiro's hear stopped.  The picnic basket she had once been holding fell to the ground, the lid unlatching as the contents of the basket were vomited out onto the blue house's front stoop.  Chihiro pushed by Yasuyo and ran, covering her face as she wished to hide the tears that cascaded from her eyes.  She fan until she was rugged.  Finally she collapsed face first in the dirt, sobs racking her whole body.  When she gathered the strength to sit up, she found herself in a familiar place.  Dense forest surrounded her, and selected beams of slender sunlight shone through small empty patches in the canopy.  Tiny stone houses littered the mossy forest bottom.  A stone spirit stood before her, one of its faces seeming to smile at her.  It appeared to guard the intricate red plaster wall: the entrance into the Spirit World.  "It was all a dream.  It was then, and it is now," Chihiro murmured, struggling to her feet.  She stood before the dark entrance, staring into the yawning maw of blackness.

          "_Sen_…"  Chihiro gripped her head.  It was her imagination.  Sen was not real!  "_Sen_…"  Chihiro clamped her hands over her hears, dark hair lacing with her fingers.  The breeze picked up and, before she knew it, she was running the opposite direction.  But the moral will has little power against the will of the gods.  The red building's black mouth swallowed Chihiro up, depositing her into the place where her very own nightmares and delusions were born.


	3. Night Falls Faster than Rain

Alright, guys.  Here comes chapter three.  This one's pretty short.  Much shorter than the first two (and I know a few of you are wiping those nervous sweatdrops away right now.  Heh…I really hate long chapters, too).  I just finished typing up half of chapter one and all of chapter two, and now I'm going on to finish off chapter three.  Whew!  My poor fingers!  n_n  Oh well.  I suppose I'd better get on to come current events.  I just got a new clickie eraser, which has become my sole inspiration for writing this story.  LoL.  Just kidding, kids.  I really enjoy it, since I do all of my writing in a binder on loose leaf paper instead of on a computer.  It's just not a real story if I don't freak out and tear up a page or two along the way!  Alright, down to the story!

P.S.  Ahem.  Sorry to do this to you, but, even though she's not reading or anything, I'd like to thank my mom, because she was such a sweetheart to get me my very own copy of Spirited Away for Easter!  n_n

Chapter Three: Night Falls (Faster than Rain)

       Chihiro shivered, walking through the abandoned train station.  Her lonely footsteps echoed back at her as she glanced around.  Nothing had changed.  Was it possible that no time had passed since she had left?  She shook her head.  There was no such thing as a Spirit World.  Chihiro looked around and made a decision.  "We must have sat down on a bench and fell asleep.  Strange places bring strange dreams, after all."  She made amends with herself, her eyes catching on a bright, slanted column of colored light.  She blinked, analyzing this.  She hurried out of the building, feeling a strong breeze push her along.  "It's unset.  Time moves faster here?  Or slower?  How long did I stay in the forest?"  The bright hues of the sunset caught in her dark eyes, glistening in her hair.  She ran up the grassy hill and stood at the top, staring across the vast open landscape.  The sun was dipping lower, and Chihiro could see tiny pinpoints of red light come on at the town far beyond.  The wind whistled past her, pushing her down the hill.  She began to run, sprinting over the ground's grassy surface.  It was a silly thing to do.  But a child's voice inside her told her to do so.

       As her feet flew over the grass, Chihiro began to feel her legs get heavy and icy cold.  "No…"  She stared down in disbelief, finding water rising quickly about her calves.  She moved as fast as she could but found that it was no use.  The water was already up to her chest.  Goosebumps flared over her shoulders, arms, and neck as the sunset glared back at her, blood red hues roughly painting the sky.  She paddled herself slowly toward the river's edge, breaking ripples in the crimson sunset and the reflection of the red lanterns behind lit.  Finally, the river stopped filling.  As Chihiro was about half way to shore, she heard loud splashing coming her way.  She turned slowly, treading water.  A jovially-lit ferry paddled slowly her way.  A long, low horn announced that it was nearing shore.  Chihiro floundered over and gripped the side of the ferry, wrapping her arms into the white bars along the deck's side.  She let her legs drift out and catch the waves the ferry put forth.  She hugged onto the bars, hot tears burning her eyes, as the noise the ferry's paddles made drowned out the sound of Chihiro's quiet sobs.  So this place _was_ real…


	4. Things That Go Bump in the Night

          Alright!  I've gotten a couple reviews already!  Thanks to those of you who have read, and even more thanks to those of you who have read and reviewed.  Remember that reviews can be critical, also!  I'm really into constructive criticism, if it's there to be given.  Leave me a review, or drop me a line at XxManifestDestinyxX@yahoo.com.  I would really love to hear from you guys!

Chapter Four: Things that Go Bump in the Night

          Chihiro waited in the water until all of the gods and spirits had left the ferry.  She hid in the water, nothing but her eyes and the top of her head showing.  Occasionally she would bob upward and take in another breath.  When all of the deities were nothing but glowing spots in the distance, Chihiro got out of the water.  She slipped on one of the stones and her knee was instantly acquainted with one of the sharper rocks.  She winced, leaving a small stream of blood trickling down the rock.  When she reached shore and turned around to check out the rock, though, she found it was clean.  "Wha…?" she murmured quietly, leaning over to check out the tear in her jeans.  The material was clean, and she was her wound.  She turned to the rock again just in time to see a long, red tongue flicker out from between the cracks, bringing the last drops of blood into the crack before disappearing completely.  Chihiro shrieked, running from the shore.

          She walked quietly along, spying a wooded area that laid down the grassy slope a ways.  She decided on heading that direction, seeing as she wasn't looking forward to meeting up with anyone from this world.  Being there was bad enough.  So she tromped down a hill, meeting up with a garden.  "Well, this place certainly is odd," she murmured.  She leaned close to a tree and sniffed the open flowers.  The scent was staggeringly awful.  She stepped back, her hand over her nose, staring up into the branches.  "Sick!" she exclaimed, almost retching at the sight.  What appeared to be internal organs grew ripe and heavy on the tree's branches.  Occasionally, one would drip a bodily fluid of some sort.  Chihiro backed away, stepping into a strangely shaped garden or some sort.  She turned, viewing the plant life around her.  Long white shoots grew out of the blackest dirt, and in the patch of garden opposite it, tall black shoots were anchored in pure white soil.  "Chess pieces?" she murmured, squinting her eyes as she stepped closer.  She plucked a small white piece from the plant.  A miniature horse stood frozen on its hind legs, pawing at the air.  She closed her fist around it, spotting a multi-colored tree.  "Mah-jongg tiles?  I don't believe it!" she laughed, astonished.

          "Pretty cool, huh?  The gods like to have fun, too, you know."

          Chihiro whipped around.  "Who's there?" she asked quickly.

          "A friend.  You have a turnip sprout chewing on your pants, Human."

          Chihiro's eyes widened as she shook the white creature off of her before stepping nervously away.

          "The turnip sprouts live in the soil, digging tunnels for the plants' roots to go through.  You don't have to worry, though.  They're relatively harmless.  Some just can't resist the urge to chew on fabric.  Who can blame them?"

          "Where…where _are_ you?" Chihiro asked, glancing around again.

          "Still hung up on my whereabouts, yes?  'Hung up'?"  The voice laughed.  "Ah, puns!  I kill myself!  I'm in the grease tree.  That's it.  Behind you!"

          Chihiro turned, staring at the tree.

          "Higher, Human!  Look up!"

          Chihiro tipped her head back, squinting up into the tree's dripping leaves.

          "Hey-o, Human!"

          "What _are_ you?" she asked curiously as she watched a flat, red…_thing_…wave at her from the top of the tree.

          "Come find out!"  The thing seemed to dance.  "Come find out, you smelly human!"

          Chihiro's eyes narrowed and she stepped under the seeping foliage, taking hold of the lowest branch.  Her hands slipped on the oily surface, but she grabbed on tighter, wrapping her arms around the branch.  She swung her leg up, hooking it over the branch.  It was a long, arduous climb up the tree's greasy, oozing branches, but Chihiro finally reached the branch that the thing was on.  She could see its shadow through the leaves.  All of her clothes were smeared with oil as she shimmied along the branch, hugging it underneath her as her slick feet pushed her down the glistening wood.  She reached out, her greasy fingers shaking.

The thing fell out of the tree and landed face down on the grass below.  Chihiro groaned, slipping herself carefully back along the branch.  When she was still quite a ways up the tree, her legs slipped.  Her hopes of grabbing onto the branch to save herself were silly ones as her hands flew from the branch as if she hadn't even touched it in the first place.

          It wasn't a long fall, but it sure was painful.  Chihiro moaned and rolled over, trying to catch the breath that had been knocked out of her in the fall.  She slid herself over the oily grass toward the red thing lying closer to the gardens.  She flipped it over, looking down at it.

"A mask?" she said disdainfully, throwing it over into the white soil where the chess pieces were being grown.  She crawled over to the garden and leaned against the wooden supports that held the dirt in place, staring down at her mucky clothes.

"You think it's disgusting, but at least now you don't smell like a human anymore."

Chihiro was prepared to reply sharply, but she paused.  "Are you _helping_ me?" she asked slowly, eyeing the mask.

"Maybe," it replied, edging around the subject.

"Why?" she continued, forgetting about how disgusting she felt with all of the grease on her.

"You silly human.  I'm a spirit of mischief.  But all of the other spirits have gone elsewhere, leaving me alone in my garden.  So, to put things in easy terms, I need a companion, and you need a disguise, which is something I can do for you.  What do you say?"

Chihiro was about to respond, but a thought cropped up suddenly.  "I need food.  From this world.  Fast!"

A dark green pill rolled from the mouth of the mask before it began to speak again.  "I was wondering when you would figure it out that you're disappearing.  It would have been entertaining if you had."  Chihiro quickly swallowed the pill and watched her body regenerate.  "You've been here before, haven't you?" she mask continued.

"Just once," she replied sullenly, "A long time ago.  I worked in the bathhouse."

"The bathhouse!  Now there's a place we can go!  Commoners aren't allowed, but with your help, I can get in."

"What?" Chihiro asked, confused.

"I can get in with the use of your body, Human."

"But Yubaba!" Chihiro exclaimed, crawling closer to the mask, "No matter what kind of disguise I wear, I won't get by her!"

"Forget Yubaba," the mask replied easily, "She hasn't been near the bathhouse in years!  The place has been under new management for who knows how long!"

Chihiro blinked in disbelief.  "Who runs it?"

"I don't know," she mask replied.  "But I do know that there happens to be a party that will be taking place tonight, and all of the gods and spirits are invited.  It's a masquerade!"  Laughter poured from the mouth of the mask, surprising Chihiro.

"We'll enjoy ourselves, Human.  But if we're going to go, we have to hurry and get you ready.  Even for me, time will be needed to take you from ghastly to goddess."


	5. Grand Entrances

          Alright.  Sorry it's been so long, but I've been busting my butt doing my research paper and trying to catch up in geometry while still learning at the same time.  It's awfully hard to concentrate in that class because I'm always itching to write.  When a class is boring enough, you can do anything.  And it seems that at that exact period of the day, I'm always feeling the most creative and the most willing to pull out that pencil and write it all.  ……come to think of it, it's always been that way!  *sigh*  Enjoy the newest installment!

Chapter Five: Grand Entrances

          "Are you sure that this'll work?" Chihiro whispered.

          "I'm positive, Human.  Just act natural.  You're shaking," the mask replied from its position over her face.

          "Pardon my nervousness," she spat back, "I'm never ridden on a fire dragon before."

          "What about a water dragon?" she mask asked impishly.

          "Shut up," she murmured as they soared high over the Spirit World.  She imagined that, from the ground, they looked like an orange tadpole swimming in the sky.  "Keep in mind that the water dragon wasn't this big, and, oh yeah, IT WASN'T ON _FIRE_!"

          "The bathhouse," the mask interjected, "Going down."

          "Going what?" Chihiro asked before the dragon took a straight downward dive toward the world below.  She wanted to scream, but she couldn't force any sound from her mouth.  All she could do was hold on tightly and bury her face in the creature's neck.  It was a long ride downward, but eventually the dragon spread its huge leathery wings and landed on the roof of the bathhouse.  Chihiro sat up, taking in a breath as the creature screamed loudly and spewed flame from its mouth.  Red hot ash fell around the crowd below like glowing confetti.  Chihiro dismounted the dragon, patting its neck softly.

          "Jump off the roof," the mask whispered.

          "I'm not a _real_ goddess," Chihiro muttered, "You want me to die?  You won't get into the party without a body."

          "You're a nervous human, aren't you?"

          "I suppose that falling to my _death_ could be the cause of a little nervousness," she said, her fingers slipping over the dragon's scaly body.  Muscles tightened and contracted under the beast's glowing body as it shifted, shrieking loudly again.

          "Let out the material in your right sleeve.  It will fill up with air and you'll land safely.  Now get down there!  You had a grand entrance and now you're just going to sit up here and whine?"

          "I'm not whining," Chihiro said belligerently.  She stepped up to the ledge and peeked over, where the masked faces of the entering gods and spirits were turned upward to her.  She took in a deep breath, lifting her arm quickly to wave at those below.  They all replied in their own ways, and she jumped from the rooftop, bending her knees quickly so that she wind wouldn't go up inside her dark red kimono.  As the ground got closer and closer, Chihiro began to panic.

          "Your sleeve, Human!" the mask exclaimed.

          Chihiro let go of the extra material in her sleeve, and it instantly pillowed outward like a balloon.  "You _can_ do anything here…" she murmured quietly, letting herself drift downward.  Her feel tapped lightly on the ground, and she pulled her sleeve back in as the spirits praised her for bravery in their own ways.

          "Come in!" she exclaimed, motioning to the beings, "You didn't come all the way here to wait outside."

          The spirits moved past her right and left, their identities stowed deep within robes of many colors and beautiful decorative masks.

          "Good work, Human.  Way to strut your stuff," the mask congratulated.

          Chihiro's reply caught in her throat as she saw a familiar mask.  Although the mask was very simple (plain white with a rectangular mouth and squinty-looking eyeholes), it made Chihiro's flesh crawl.  She moved away from the spirit as much as possible, but No Face seemed to recognize her through the disguise.  He reached a shadow hand out, short interjections coming from its mouth.

          "No Face knows you," the mast noted as she quickly passed by the dark thing that reached for her.  The yuna and frogmen of the bathhouse welcomed all of their masked guests.

          "In you pocket it gold for a bath," the mask whispered to her, and she instantly reached for the pocket as they approached the greeters.

          "Welcome!" the yuna exclaimed as the frogmen bowed.  Chihiro found her smile dissipate as several of the women's faces contorted.  She heard a whisper of "Human!", and noticed the discomfort among them.  Chihiro shifted, glaring slightly at the frogmen and yuna, worried for a moment.

          "What's going _on_ here?" a rough female voice demanded.  Chihiro turned, seeing a woman in dark blue robes approach.  A navy and silver mask perched atop the soft river of brown hair that flowed down to her waist.  Her eyes shifted among the bathhouse employees.  "_Well…?!_"

          One of the braver frogmen stepped forward and spoke.  "Mistress Lin, this one smells like a human."

          The woman's eyes slid to Chihiro.  "So I've noticed, you imbicile.  She is a spirit of fire from the _human_ world, hence the creatures she smells like.  She's obviously here for a bath."  She groaned as the frogman reclaimed his place.

          "My apologies," Lin said, bowing.  Chihiro held out her gold, the tiny pebbles of precious metal glimmering in her palms, but the woman refused.  "They are fools," she said dismissively.  "Come choose a bath, and I'll save you a room for after the party is through."

          Chihiro chose an herbal bath with floral extracts instead of the worm salts, and Lin walked down the hall, hanging the wooden tile on a hook by one of the doorways.  "Reserved!" she called with a wave, "Enjoy the masquerade!"  With that, she pulled her own make down over her eyes and disappeared into the crowd.


	6. Miscommunication

          To the readers of Where the Wild Things Are: I keep leaving you hanging.  I'm guessing that anyone that was faithful to my work is now abandoning hope of any completion.  Considering I finished my Love and Blues (Cowboy Bebop) relatively fast, and my Fallen Angel (Peach Girl) is hanging in the vertigo, I'm hoping against all odds that I can work my way through this story and finish it the way it deserves to be finished.  I have a notorious past of not finishing stories.  LoL.  By the way, I have a new story going up very soon, I hope.  It's a Princess Mononoke fic that I haven't gotten around to naming yet.  And I hope it better luck than the others of my previous stories.  Haha…nothing wrong with a little shameless advertising, neh?  I hope you enjoy chapter six!

Chapter Six: Miscommunication

          "This is more than I'd hoped for," Chihiro told the mask as she swayed alone to the music.

          "I told you that it would be fun.  Now aren't you glad you came?" the mask replied.

          "Yes.  But if this place is real, where is Haku?" she asked, taking a glass off one of the trays that a frogman carried.

          "Don't drink that," the mask warned.

          "Relax.  I'm just going to hold it.  Have to look natural, right?"

          "Haku left a long time ago.  He remembered his name and left the bathhouse for good.  I don't know how he remembered his name after all that time."

          "I helped him," Chihiro replied easily.

          "What?" the mask replied, shocked.

          "A long time ago I came to this world and met Haku.  I remembered his name.  He was the Kohaku River.  And I remembered my name, so I got to go home."  She brought the goblet to her lips and took a long drink.  "Mmm…"

          "You drank it!  Human!"

          "I what?"  She dropped the goblet, and it shattered on the floor.  She was white as a sheet as she knelt over, coughing, hoping it would come out.  The liquid crawled down her esophagus like a slug.

          "Oh, no," she said, her voice hoarse.  One of the yuna came over and took her arm.

          "You alright?" the woman asked.  "Yes?  You must see manager.  Manager ask for dragon rider.  You, yes?  This way."  Chihiro's face was powder write as she followed behind the woman to the elevator.  "Go to top floor and knock on door.  Manager be with you, then."

          With that, she woman pulled the lever on the right and the door closed as Chihiro zipped upward out of sight.

          "Oooh, this is _not_ good," the mask said nervously.

          "I think I'm going to be sick," Chihiro murmured, her face obtaining a greenish tint.

          The door slid open at the very top floor and Chihiro stepped out, dazed.  The last time she had been to this place, she had left with a pudy purple mouse and a mosquito bird.  She dropped the knocker to the door twice, but there was no reply.  She opened the door slowly, peeking in.  Chihiro stepped through, closing it softly behind her.  She walked down the hall, relieved that she wasn't being pulled this time.  When she reached the main room, she was sweating like crazy.  She wiped her hands on the kimono, seeing the large chair behind the desk move.

          "So.  A fire spirit from the human world, huh?" came a voice from the chair.

          "Yes," she replied, trying to keep her voice steady.

          "Hm."  A hand reached up and took a dark green mask off.  The chair spun, and Chihiro was face to face with a gentleman in his twenties.  He slammed the mask down on his desk and stood up, a whole head taller than Chihiro.

          "You're a liar," he said darkly.  "The moment you drank the ambrosia, I felt your presence.  That of a pig.  A dirty swine!  Take off that mask.  You can't hide any longer."

          Chihiro bowed her head and pushed the mask back over her head, shaking out her long brown hair.  She held the mask tightly by her side.

          "Will you not even _look_ at me, filthy human?" the man demanded angrily.  "You _will_ look at me!"  He grabbed her chin and roughly twisted her face up to him.  Chihiro squeezed her eyes shut, tears oozing out between her dark lashes.  "How shall we cook you once your transformation is complete?  We have a lot of mouths to feed at his masquerade, you know."

          Chihiro opened her eyes and stared on the young man's face.  A cunning grin spread across his lips.  "Tell you what," he said sportingly, "I'll let you choose.  How would you care to be served, Human?"

          "She won't be 'served' in any way, shape, or form, Haku."  Chihiro's head tipped out of the man's slack grip and jerked, taking in through wide eyes the man next to her.  His startling orange-hued eyes were the first thing Chihiro noticed, then his wild blond hair.  He wore pants and a vest, both of a crimson red that matched Chihiro's kimono.  He squeezed her hand, at which she found that she no longer held a mask.

          "Chihiro," Haku whispered, his deep green eyes wide.

          She backed up a step, her face full of confusion.  "Haku…_why_?  You're…?  And Yubaba…?  I…"

          "This masquerade was set up as a trap for my brother," he tried to explain.

          "And you found him," the young man behind Chihiro replied.  "But I have _her_."

          "Chihiro," Haku murmured.  "Gods, what have I done?"


End file.
